DHAKA, Bangladesh: Students planning to take up an education in dentistry in Bangladesh this year will have to study longer, as the country’s Medical and Dental Council in the capital Dhaka has approved a new curriculum at its general meeting on May. It will see Bachelor of Dental Surgeon (BDS) programmes extended to five years.

Timelines for the annual examinations will also be changed in order to give students more time to focus on practical learning when the new guidelines will become effective later this year.

The previous dental curriculum, implemented in 2007, required BDS students to study for four years which, according to representatives of the Bangladesh Dental Society, proved insufficient for remaining competitive with students from other countries where students often have to complete longer programmes. Similar rules were already implemented successfully with new guidelines for academic degrees in medicine and general surgery last year, they told the newspaper Dhaka Tribune last week.

The update for dental programmes will become valid for students who enrol for the next academic year. Graduates who have started under the previous curriculum will not be affected. Bangladesh has currently 1,700 seats available in 23 dental colleges nationwide, according to figures from the Directorate General of Health Services, an agency working under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.